Can't Live Without You
by YuriChan220
Summary: Everyone knows Hibari as a sickly person. But what would happen if Hibari becomes so ill that she's unable to leave the hospital at all? What will Sora do for her childhood friend?
1. Visiting

**Can't Live Without You**

 **Pairing: Sarutobi x Torikai**

 **Genre: Romance & Hurt/Comfort**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san or any of its characters.**

 **Author's Note: Hello, everyone! My name is Yuri and this is my first Sarutobi x Torikai fanfic. After watching episodes 7 and 8, I didn't think of a story about them until now. This is also inspired by a Lucky Star fanfiction "Heart of an Angel". So, here it is. Enjoy! ;)**

 _Cough Cough!_

Hibari Torikai covers her mouth with one long sleeve that's hanging down from her arm while sitting up on the hospital bed. She's unable to come to school again for a while since her condition is starting to get worse. She has been told over and over again to not leave the hospital while in this state, yet, as stubborn as she is, she walked out of the hospital to come to school. But it was for a purpose. She wanted to see her childhood friend, Sora Sarutobi. And though Sora had visited Hibari from time to time, ever since Hibari had somehow came to school again, she was able to make new friends, like Yachiyo Inugami, Aki Hiiragi, Suzu Nekoyama and others.

However, when Hibari came to school on a rainy day, the cold air had affected her somehow and was back in the hospital, feeling worse than before. As she looks out the window, she could see some dark clouds rolling by, meaning that it might rain today. The doctors had given her medicine just a few minutes ago, so she could move around a bit. The thought of her childhood friend makes her heart beat rapidly and she clutches her hidden fist on her chest.

"Sacchan," she whispers. Deep down inside, Hibari wished that she hasn't had this horrible condition in the first place.

* * *

"Inugami-san," the chairman says as she walks up to the dog-like girl. "You were unable to do your day duty again, so I had to do it myself."

Yachiyo turns around from the shelf she just checked and just smiles. "Oh, thanks, Sarutobi-san! You're my hero!"

 _Bonk!_

"What the heck am I the committee chairman for?" Sora snaps after she raises her fist from hitting Yachiyo's head. "You should learn to do things yourself, you know?"

"Ahahaha!"

Aki walks over and crosses her arms while shaking her head in dismay. "That Inugami. She never listens, does she?"

"Tell me about it," Sora agrees.

"But still! Thanks for having my back, Sarutobi-san!" Yachiyo says, shaking both of Sora's hands happily.

"Yeah, whatever!" Sora turns her head away. "But next time, you're all on your own. Don't come relying on me all the time."

The bell rings for homeroom as Aki turns to leave.

"I'll see you later," she says as she waves at both the girls.

"See ya, Aki-chan!" Yachiyo waves. "Say hi to Nekoyama-san for me!"

Aki just waves as she walks next door. Sora sighs as she grabs Yachiyo's shoulder and drags her to the classroom. Sora has seen Yachiyo go head-over-heels with Suzu before, but sometimes, she would get very annoyed with it, just like how people would compare Sora to a monkey.

First period ends quite quickly as the class just took notes for the lesson. Next door, Suzu looks in the attendance record to notice Hibari is absent again.

"Torikai-san may not be here," Aki says. "But the question is: is she really absent?"

"I remember a couple times that she appeared out of nowhere," Suzu says. "Like when we first met, we thought she was a ghost or something. Good thing she was actually there."

"Yes," Aki agrees. "But . . ." She looks at the empty seat a couple seats from Suzu. "It seems that she's unable to come this time. She looked fine a couple days ago."

"It was before it was raining yesterday, right?" Suzu asks.

"Yes. Maybe she's unable to come to school because of the rain?" Aki guesses.

Suzu looks into the attendance book again. "Who knows? I hope Torikai-san is okay."

Aki looks away with a worried expression on her face. Hibari usually appears out of nowhere, but this time, it's different. Is it because of her condition? She hears a lot of people saying that Hibari was hospitalized, but some questions filled her mind, like "How long was Hibari like this?" or "How can she come to school in this condition?" and so on. Still, Aki is surprised that Hibari was able to come to school, despite her poor health.

The school day goes by and everyone gets up to leave the school. Sora exits the school in a hurry to the hospital. She heard about Hibari's condition worsening after staying out in the rain for too long while walking to school yesterday, which was very stupid in her opinion. Now, Sora is in a panic right now because of her worrying over her childhood friend. Unfortunately, the hospital is far from the school, so she had to drive about 5 miles from here. After all, she's mature enough to take driving lessons for a while, in which she passed 2 tests in the last 2 months. It took about a half-hour to get to the hospital and go to the third floor where Hibari is at room 323.

She knocks on the door, and hears a quiet, "Come in." Sora opens the door to see her childhood friend sitting up on the hospital bed, smiling.

"Hi, Sacchan," the sick girls say softly as she waves.

"Hi, Hibari," Sora comes and takes a chair that's next to the bed and sits on it. "How are you feeling?"

"Still the same," Hibari replies as she looks down at the covers. "In fact, I feel a lot weaker than before."

"Well, you shouldn't be standing out in the cold for too long," Sora says. "You know how it affects your condition."

Hibari smiles weakly. "I guess I wasn't aware of it until then."

Sora sighs and hands her half of her lunch. "Here, in case you're hungry."

Hibari gasps as she stares at the wrapped up bento. "Y-you're giving this to me!? B-but . . ."

"I know. You're more important right now." Sora turns away, blushing after she says that.

Hibari stares at the bento for a bit before taking it. She never thought Sora would be this caring, but then again, since their childhood, Sora was always being thoughtful.

"Th-thanks, Sacchan," the sick girl says softly.

"It's fine. You need your strength after all."

Silence fills the room as neither of them move a muscle. Sora looks over at her childhood friend, who is looking down at the bento, not taking one bite.

"Hibari," Sora finally says. "Do you think . . . you'll be able to live long enough until next year?"

The green haired girl doesn't make eye contact with her childhood friend. "I don't know."

"You've been in this condition for a while now," Sora reminds her. "If anything, it would be a miracle if you were to live until next year."

Hibari could only nod. In truth, she had been living with this weak body condition ever since she was born. The doctors predicted that this illness was genetic because her mother used to have it before being pregnant. And then, Hibari's mother died tragically from child-birth, leaving her father to take care of her. But Hibari's condition wasn't getting any better as the years went by, and her father knew it would happen. There was one time when Hibari suddenly collapsed in grade school just a few days after she and Sora first met. After getting checked in the hospital, the doctors told her father that she has a weak body condition, in which she had never realized until now. So every now and then, Hibari was sent to the hospital for some treatment, plus some education when they think Hibari is well enough to go. Sora was the only one that looked after her and by her side every single day and Hibari was very grateful that someone cared.

However, after 9 years of living with this condition, Hibari is starting to doubt her fight for survival.

"Am I . . . really going to be alright? What if I won't make it?"

"Don't ever say things like that!" Sora snaps. "Look how for you've gotten since you had this. And you were able to make new friends at school, too. So, don't ever doubt yourself, Hibari. After all, I'm always there for you."

Hibari blushes at Sora's kind words and quickly wraps her arms around her childhood. "That's so nice of you to say that, Sacchan~! Let's hear that again!"

"No way!" Sora shrieks as she blushes.

Thankfully, Hibari pulls away as she giggles. But then, a rough cough is heard, which Sora jolts up in alarm.

"Are you alright, Hibari!?" she says.

"I-I'm alright," the green haired girl replies softly. "I'll be fine."

"Maybe you should really lay off going to school for a while," Sora warns. "I'm afraid if you keep this up, you might pass out at any second."

"I understand," Hibari says as she lies back down on her pillow.

As Sora tucks her in, she gives her a worried look before leaving. Outside the door, Sora leans against the wall. _Hibari,_ she thinks to herself. _You're going to be okay. Don't you worry. I'll still stay by your side as long as it takes._

Inside Hibari's room, the green-haired girl looks up at the ceiling with a sad look on her face. _Poor Sacchan. That look on her face . . . it makes me sad. I can't let her worry too much about me. It's been a few days, but . . . I still can't have her worry. What should I do?_


	2. Disaster Strikes!

**Chapter 2**

 **Disaster Strikes!**

For the next few days, Hibari still hasn't come to school. Sora is thinking that Hibari is listening for once. However, once school starts, Aki and Suzu are just sitting there talking when Aki feels a sudden chill down her spine. _It feels as though . . . someone is behind me,_ Aki thinks to herself. _Do I even dare to look behind me . . .?_ She slowly turns and the girl standing right before her eyes . . . is staring right at her closely.

"Boo!"

Aki screams as she jumps back in shock, causing Suzu to scream as well.

"Hehe! Scared you, didn't I?" Hibari giggles as she puts her long sleeve up to her mouth.

"Darn it! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Aki shouts, putting her hand to her chest while gasping for air.

"What are you doing here anyways?" Suzu asks. "Did they release you from the hospital again?"

"Mm-hmm! I'm feeling a lot better than I did a few days ago," Hibari replies. "In fact, I was able to convince them to come to school again."

"Convince them?" Aki questions. "Wait a minute, you're in poor condition remember? How are you better than you were before?"

There is a pause and Aki narrows her eyebrows suspiciously.

"There's something wrong here," the dark haired girl says. "Something that you aren't telling either of us."

Hibari backs away while sweat dropping. "Wh-what are you talking about, Acchan? I said I'm perfectly fine. R-right, Kitty-chan?"

Suzu just looks away. Aki grabs Hibari by the tie and pulls her close.

"Are you hiding something?"

"N-no, Acchan," Hibari stammers. "P-please, you're hurting me . . ."

 _Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!_

Aki reluctantly lets go of Hibari's tie. "You're lucky the bell rang, but I want answers after class, got it?"

"O-okay . . ."

Indeed Hibari is hiding something, but it's something that she does not want to tell either of them, especially her childhood friend. She may look fine on the outside, but deep down inside, it feels as if her health is failing very quickly, like her illness has gotten a lot worse than before. However, despite all that, Hibari is able to hide all of it . . . somehow.

As class goes by, Hibari's head begins to sting a little. She thinks it's just a simple headache, but as time went by, it got a lot worse than earlier. Hibari tries to hide it, but the pain keeps on hitting her like a ton of bricks. Plus, she feels that her breathing is ragged since class started. Her chest and head are starting to hurt now, which became very unbearable for her to handle at this moment. At the end of class, Hibari is able to sneak out of the classroom without Aki or Suzu noticing. She wanted to go to the nurse's office, but it feels so far away to her, even with this splitting headache and chest pains.

"Hibari?" a familiar voice says from a few feet away.

 _Oh, darn!_ Hibari thinks to herself. _Please! Don't let the pain get any worse!_

Sora runs up to her childhood friend. "What are you doing here? I thought the doctors told you specifically to stay in the hospital for a while."

"W-well, I got better and was able to convince them to come to school again," Hibari replies, rather softer than normal.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sora asks.

"Yes, I'm fine," Hibari replies as she struggles to keep on her feet. "See? It's all goo-"

All of a sudden, as if everything is happening at a slow motion, Sora witnesses something that she did not expect. Her childhood friend's eyes close as she collapses right onto the floor, causing Sora to scream. Aki and Suzu hear Sora's cry for help, including Yachiyo and Mikine Nezu and rush to her aid.

"Oh, my gosh!" Yachiyo gasps. "What happened to Torikai-san?"

"Not time for explanations!" Sora shouts. "Someone call the ambulance, pronto!"

"Got it!" Aki whips out her touch phone and dials the number while glancing at the unconscious Hibari.

Sora looks at her childhood friend in worry with her eyes shaking with tears. "Hibari . . ."

After about 10 minutes, they hear sirens from outside and the paramedics rush to carry Hibari onto the cart and roll her inside the ambulance. Sora stares at the sight of the ambulance leaving with her fists clenched in anger and frustration.

Yachiyo walks up to the chairman. "U-um, Sarutobi-san?"

"Girls," Sora says. "Let's go for a ride."

"Where?" Aki asks.

"To the hospital, of course," Sora replies.

* * *

Thankfully, all of the girls were able to fit inside Sora's car as she drove to the hospital, with Mikine texting her sempai about the news. Since Yukiji Ushikawa has her own car as well, she's able to drive to the hospital herself. After Mikine texted her the directions, they were halfway through to the hospital when they come across a traffic jam.

"Oh, come on!" Sora growls as she slams her hand on the steering wheel.

"D-did we already mention the news to the teachers, I wonder?" Yachiyo asks nervously, who is sitting in the passenger's seat with Suzu next to her and Aki on the opposite side.

"Don't worry," Mikine says softly. "I've already told both of their teachers as soon as the ambulance arrived and that we were going with Sarutobi-san to the hospital."

"Oh~! Good thinking, Nezu-san!" Yachiyo says cheerfully.

"Is there another way we should go, Sarutobi-san?" Aki asks.

Sora thinks for a bit before gripping her steering wheel. "Hold on tight, girls. This is going to get rough."

As quick as a flash, she makes a sharp turn toward an opening and speeds up directly to a ramp that leads to a road with less traffic. She then hovers left on the street that leads to the hospital, turning left and right to pass every car in her way. The other girls, on the other hand, were trying to hold on for dear life from Sora's reckless driving with the chairman not caring. She just wanted to see if her childhood friend is going to be okay.

Finally, with a loud screeching stop, they arrived at the hospital. Sora opens the door while the rest just collapse from the intense driving that Sora had never done before.

"C-could you at least be a little more GENTLE next time!?" Aki shouts at her while trying to gasp for air.

"Hehe! As expected of a monkey!" Yachiyo teases.

"I'M NOT A MONKEY!" Sora shrieks.

"Sarutobi-san," Mikine says softly. "Could you lead the way, please?"

"Oh, here follow me," Sora says, nearly forgetting what just happened.

All the girls follow Sora into the lobby and the chairman goes to the reception desk to tell him about Hibari. When he nods with a yes, Sora leads the girls to the 3rd floor and waits in the waiting room for Hibari's condition. While Sora is pacing back and forth worriedly, Yachiyo and Suzu give her that same look. Mikine checks her phone to see if her sempai arrived yet while Aki just stares at a window near by. Minutes pass by while Sora is growing impatient, frustrated and scared at the same time. After witnessing what happened with Hibari, Sora was immediately scared. It may seem unusual for a diligent chairman like her, but then again, most people would probably feel the same way if their loved ones were hurt.

As a half-hour passes by, the doctor comes in with a clipboard in hand. Sora immediately runs up to him.

"How is she!?" she shouts. "Is she going to be alright!?"

Yachiyo manages to pull Sora back a little. "Calm down, okay? We don't want to get kicked out."

The doctor, who has short black hair and a goatee, adjusts his glasses as he clears his throat. "Well, first things first, we checked on Torikai-san's status, which is a very weak body condition, as you all may know," he says. "But considering that she snuck out of the hospital without any of us knowing, her condition worsened a lot more than it did before."

Everyone gasps at the sudden news, including Sora. _Why_ _that stubborn little girl!_ Sora thinks to herself while clenching her fists in anger.

"So, she did hide something," Aki says under her breath.

"W-what's going to happen to her?" Sora asks.

"Well, we all know one thing," the doctor says. "From her condition worsening and the constant pains in the chest and head, we all come to a conclusion . . . she has heart disease."

* * *

 **A/N: Forgive me, but this is all I can come up with, regarding characters with weak body conditions. And yes, this is sort of related to Kaori from Strawberry Panic, but hey, we haven't seen Hibari in the manga yet, so why not make it up? Anyway, feel free to give out any suggestions, questions or concerns and don't forget to review! ;)**


End file.
